Starry Sky
by Severus-Fangirl
Summary: Misaki and Oujirou go on a date and discuss the future, under the starry sky. One shot.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Angelic Layer. CLAMP does; I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Notes**: This story takes place about five years after the end of the series; Misaki is supposed to be about 17. This is O/M established relationship – in this universe, they've been more-or-less dating since around the end of the series. This is my first real romantic story, so pardon the awkward, inexperienced bits. All in all, I'm quite proud of this little story. I started out with the middle of the car scene and it grew from there.

"Come _on_, Misakichi," Kizaki Tamayo moaned into the telephone. "Don't tell me he hasn't asked you, yet!"

On the other end of the line, Suzuhara Misaki, Tamayo's best friend, laughed nervously. "Tamayo-chan… we're still so young… We don't need to be thinking about that yet."

Tamayo rolled her eyes. "You've been dating for _five_ _years_. You're practically married anyway. And don't tell me Mihara-kun isn't ready, yet. He's spent almost the last four years reaping in the proceeds of all those new Angelic Layer developments he helped create. You two could probably get away with not working a day for the rest of your lives!"

"Please, Tamayo-chan. Not in Tokyo. Maybe in Hokkaido, but not in Tokyo."

"Misakichi. You're skirting the issue."

"No, I'm not. And speaking of skirts, which one do you think I should wear tonight?"

"Case closed."

"What?"

"Never mind, Misakichi. And what about that green one you got a couple weeks ago?"

Misaki looked out the window of the car. She smiled as she gazed up at the stars. Stargazing had been a hobby Misaki had enjoyed since she had been a little girl, when she had lived in the country and had been comforted by the fact that she was looking at the same stars as was her mother, living in Tokyo. Now, Misaki knew she was looking at the stars to distract herself. She looked down at her lap. Oujirou glanced over at her.

"Are you all right, Misaki?" he asked, with concern.

"Mm," Misaki affirmed, distractedly.

"No, you're not. What's on your mind?" Oujirou eased the car into the parking lot of the restaurant and turned to look at Misaki. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Misaki paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then turned to look at Oujirou. "Yes. Let's talk."

"I'm ready to listen, Misaki. You know I am."

"I know you are. It's just that…" Misaki paused, trying to find the right words to voice her concerns. Her relationship with Oujirou had always been very open and understanding. Their age difference had made the ability to talk necessary. However, it was often difficult for Misaki, especially in times like these to put her feelings to words. "I was wondering what was going to happen to us… you know… tomorrow."

"Well..." Oujirou started, "Tomorrow, I know we are going to practice for that charity tournament you have coming up… but something tells me that's not what you mean." He smiled good-naturedly at his girlfriend.

Misaki returned his smile. "I was just thinking, Oujirou-kun. I was thinking about our future. Together." She winced slightly. Had she gone too far? Had she been too forward? She had just revealed to Oujirou that she was expecting their relationship to continue on into the future. Misaki wasn't sure if that was such a bad thing, but she didn't want to assume too much. Even after five years, Misaki was still a little nervous about other people, especially when she was in a relationship of this caliber.

Oujirou nodded, understandingly and crossed his arms. "I know I want to stay with the development team. We both have family ties to the Layer and I think there's a future for me there. I'm confident that I'm pretty well-established in the field, and you… well… you're a champion." He grinned.

Misaki nodded. "That's wonderful, Oujirou-kun. I know how much you love the work you do, and I love it, too." She grinned mischievously. "I love being one of the first to try out new equipment."

Oujirou laughed. "I know you do. But what do you want to do, Misaki? You're going to finish high school in…"

"Two weeks," Misaki supplied. "I'll graduate in two weeks. I'd like to continue some of the work I'm doing, getting involved in the community through Angelic Layer. I like participating in the charity tournaments, the seminars at Piffle Princess… I'd like to continue – and expand – doing that. I mean, I already knew that that was what I wanted to do. Just like you know what you're going to do."

"So, it seems like there aren't going to be very many changes."

"Yes." Misaki hesitated. "You and I… are going to continue doing much the same things."

Oujirou chuckled, trying to ease Misaki's wariness. "So you keep saying."

Misaki flushed slightly. "But what about…" She searched for a better term. "You and me."

"So, that's what this is about?" Oujirou smiled and put his arm around Misaki's shoulders, trying to accommodate for the awkwardness of being in the car. "Well, I do see a future for us. Do you?"

Relieved, Misaki snuggled into his arm. "Yes, I do. Very much so." Out of the corner of her eyes, she glanced at Oujirou's face, trying to gauge his expressions. "Oujirou-kun… for as long as I've known you, I've though you were pretty special. As we got to know each other more, my feelings for you grew." She turned to face Oujirou. "And they just keep growing and growing. And right now, I feel that if they grow anymore I might explode. I know they will, though."

Oujirou smiled. "I guess we'll have to be careful about your exploding."

Misaki flushed again. "You know what I mean."

"I do, Misaki, I do." Oujirou cleared his throat. "You know how I feel about you. I think you know how I've felt about you since we first met. Do you remember when you went on that date with Kobayashi-kun?"

Misaki grinned. "And it rained? I can't believe you remember!"

"Misaki, I remember every moment we've ever spent together. That's how I feel about you. I want to keep making those memories with you, Misaki. For the rest of our lives." He leaned in and kissed her. "Misaki, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Misaki looked up at Oujirou. "Oh, Oujirou… so do I. Really. I do, I do!" She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "I love you, Oujirou. With all my heart."

Oujirou smiled and held Misaki for several moments before pulling back to look at her. "So, it's settled then."

Misaki laughed. "Yes, I guess it is."

As the two got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant, arm-in-arm, Misaki couldn't help glancing up at the stars again. That starry sky had always been there for her, and now, as the future seemed brighter than ever before, Misaki hope the stars would always be there for her as they had in the past, just as Oujirou had. Just like Oujirou.

Fin


End file.
